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Integrating twenty-first century competencies into the curriculum has become an important issue for education reform worldwide. This study examines and compares twenty-first century competencies demonstrated in mother tongue curriculum standards in China, the United States and Finland. It identifies key similarities and significant differences among them. It shows that the Finnish Curriculum has a more balanced distribution of twenty-first century competencies. While communication and critical thinking are stressed in all three, critical thinking is prioritised in the American Curriculum. In addition to communication and critical thinking, the Chinese Curriculum emphasises citizenship based on national identity, metacognitive strategies and aesthetics. The American Curriculum focuses on information and ICT literacy, and the Finnish Curriculum highlights personal and social responsibility concerning cultural awareness and citizenship. The significant differences between these three Curricula are related to the countries' tradition of curriculum theories -- the Chinese integrate Western theories and the Confucian tradition, the American follow the Anglo-American curriculum and the Finnish have roots in "Bildung-Didaktik." Curriculum objectives should take into consideration both subject knowledge and skills and the student as a whole person. Additionally, different curriculum traditions should be considered and learned during the curriculum design process.

With the global expansion of International Baccalaureate (IB), tensions have emerged between IB and the national education systems. This poses challenges to international education governance in many countries. In mainland China, IB programmes have rapidly become more prevalent since their introduction in 1991. However, new policies have imposed censorship and restrictions on international programmes regarding international education as a potential threat to China's educational sovereignty, cultural identity, and educational equity. Shanghai has the highest number of IB schools and the strictest policies in mainland China. To understand China's international education policy governance, this study traces the policy evolution of Shanghai's IB education through document analysis and interviews. Furthermore, this study examines the responses, perceptions, and demands of non-governmental stakeholders regarding current restrictive policies. Results show that the development of IB education in Shanghai has undergone three stages of policy transformation: support, regulation, and restriction. Against this policy transformation, non-governmental stakeholders believe that IB education is a "necessity". Therefore, this study suggests that IB education governance in China should incorporate the elements of network governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrating twenty-first century competencies into the curriculum has become an important issue for education reform worldwide. This study examines and compares twenty-first century competencies demonstrated in mother tongue curriculum standards in China, the United States and Finland. It identifies key similarities and significant differences among them. It shows that the Finnish Curriculum has a more balanced distribution of twenty-first century competencies. While communication and critical thinking are stressed in all three, critical thinking is prioritised in the American Curriculum. In addition to communication and critical thinking, the Chinese Curriculum emphasises citizenship based on national identity, metacognitive strategies and aesthetics. The American Curriculum focuses on information and ICT literacy, and the Finnish Curriculum highlights personal and social responsibility concerning cultural awareness and citizenship. The significant differences between these three Curricula are related to the countries' tradition of curriculum theories – the Chinese integrate Western theories and the Confucian tradition, the American follow the Anglo–American curriculum and the Finnish have roots in Bildung-Didaktik. Curriculum objectives should take into consideration both subject knowledge and skills and the student as a whole person. Additionally, different curriculum traditions should be considered and learned during the curriculum design process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]